ABSTRACT

Third-party intervention is a method of resolving conflicts between two or more people when those conflicts involve interpersonal issues that significantly disrupt necessary processes and work relationships, typically with a trained resource. Not all conflict is bad: Creative conflict can enhance motivation and innovation and help group members understand unfamiliar ideas or points of view. Also, not all conflict is interpersonal. When conflict involves substantive issues, such as work methods, pay rates, conditions of employment, and competition for scarce resources, conflict resolution interventions often involve settling labor–management disputes through arbitration and mediation—methods that require considerable training and expertise in law and labor relations. Even when the conflict is interpersonal and counterproductive, it may not be severe or disruptive enough to warrant attention. In some instances, the parties may resolve the conflict themselves, or managers may resolve the conflict unilaterally—for example, when they are under heavy time pressures, when the disputants are not expected to work together in the future, or when resolution of the dispute has a broad effect on the organization.